The summer months are often referred to as "concert season." However, the intensity of summer courses, work schedules and other obligations don't leave a lot of traveling time to attend as many concerts as desired.
However, traveling to attend concerts is unnecessary - the School of Music provides more than 300 concerts and recitals each year, giving students and community members alike entertainment opportunities right on campus. The performance schedule lightens during the summer, but it continues to provide many free events that are open to the public.
The Summer Chamber Music Festival kicks off the summer's events each year. It is a four-part concert series that features traditional chamber music performed by students, faculty and members of the community. The last concert of this series took place last Sunday.
Student recitals continue throughout the entire summer and remain open to the public. The School of Music requires students at the bachelor, graduate and doctoral levels to spend a semester planning and preparing an hour-long, solo recital as part of the degree programs.
The Summer Outdoor Concert Series is another annual summer event. It features three ensembles: the summer jazz ensemble, summer concert band and the summer concert choir.
The summer ensemble concerts do not follow the intense structure as during the academic year. "It's much more relaxed," John Scheib, associate director of the School of Music, said. "It's just an opportunity for people to get together and make music. In the summer, things just lighten up."
Both the summer jazz ensemble and summer concert band perform one concert each outside on the Arts Terrace, while the summer concert choir performs twice in Sursa Hall. The ensembles are comprised of music majors at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels and community members. Students outside of the School of Music are also welcomed to join.
"The ensembles are not only a great way to share what we do with the community," Sheib said, "but it's an opportunity to bring in some people that wouldn't normally play in an ensemble, because they have free time in the summer to do so."
Faculty members are included in the ensembles as well. "[The School of Music] has a full faculty of professional musicians that go off and perform all around the world," Sheib said. "And they are also performing right here, for free! You can show up and see somebody that is at the top of their game in any one of their instruments or voice."
Although many summer concert wishlists don't consist of classical performances, the School of Music continues to provide opportunities for concert-goers to try something new all summer.
"It's one of those things," said Sheib, "if a student hasn't really attended a classical music or an art music type of performance, they could find that it's something they really might enjoy. It's an opportunity to open up doors to different types of music, and different types of experiences."
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